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Mets Make Two Waiver Claims; Place D’Arnaud, Flores, Three Others On Revocable Waivers

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The Mets have made waiver claims on two unknown players, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports, though they haven’t been able to work out a trade with either player’s team.  One of the players is a relief pitcher, which isn’t surprising given how the Mets were unable to land a desired bullpen upgrade prior to the August 1 trade deadline.  Teams have 48.5 hours to work out a trade once a player is claimed, and it is unclear if that deadline has already in the case of either player claimed by the Mets, or if the club still has time to work something out.  The fact that trades were being discussed between the two sides implies that the Amazins had at least some interest in the players, and the claims weren’t made just to block a rival club.

In other Mets waiver news, Ackert hears from an industry source that the club has also placed five players on revocable waivers: catcher Travis d’Arnaud, infielder Wilmer Flores, utilityman Ty Kelly and relievers Erik Goeddel and Josh Edgin.  The New York Post’s Mike Puma reports (Twitter link) that the Mets will eventually put their entire roster on waivers throughout August, a procedural move commonly used by several teams so they can either gauge the market for several players or keep hidden the identities of the players they’re actually interested in trading.  As a team can pull back any claimed player, it costs the Mets nothing to put their entire club on the waiver wire.

Still, d’Arnaud’s presence in the first wave of Mets waiver placements is notable given that the catcher has already been linked to one high-profile trade rumor prior to the deadline.  New York reportedly offered d’Arnaud to the Brewers both straight-up and as part of a trade package for Jonathan Lucroy, prior to Lucroy eventually being dealt to the Rangers.  D’Arnaud has shown glimpses of his hitting potential when healthy, though those instances have been rather few and far between, as d’Arnaud has been plagued by multiple injuries over his brief MLB career.  While it’s understandable that the Mets would be interested in parting with d’Arnaud for a proven star like Lucroy, it’s fair to wonder if the Mets are considering parting ways with d’Arnaud entirely since he can’t seem to stay healthy.

NL East News & Rumors: Ichiro, Prado, Walker, Phillies

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Ichiro Suzuki joined the 3000-hit club today, as the Marlins outfielder collected his milestone hit in the form of a seventh-inning triple during Miami’s 10-7 win over the Rockies.  Suzuki became the 30th player in MLB history to collect 3000 hits, though of course, Ichiro is now up to 4278 career hits counting his storied career in Japan.  At age 42, Ichiro has shown no inclination to retire, so he should be able to climb several more steps up the all-time hit leaderboard before he finally hangs up the cleats.  Congratulations to one of baseball’s legends as we check out some notes from around the NL East…

  • The Marlins have yet to make Martin Prado a contract offer but they’re expected to do so after the season, a team source tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.  The 32-year-old has hit well in his walk year, carrying a .318/.372/.422 slash line over 452 plate appearances into today’s action.  Prado has long been regarded as a clubhouse leader in Miami and he has also won the respect of Don Mattingly in the skipper’s first season running the Marlins.  If Prado leaves in free agency, the Marlins do have a ready-made internal replacement for third base in Derek Dietrich.
  • The Mets have yet to approach Neil Walker about a new contract, the free agent second baseman tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, though Walker is quite open to remaining with the team.  “When I say I am excited about the future here, I don’t just mean what I think we can still do this season,” Walker said.  “I like the players we have here, I like what I think we are building for this season and for years to come.  I’d like to be a part of it, yeah.”  A team source tells Ackert that the Mets will “make a good run” at re-signing Walker, and GM Sandy Alderson said earlier this week that the club would talk to Walker, especially given how Dilson Herrera’s trade shakes up the Mets’ middle infield plans.  Ackert, for her part, believes re-signing Walker would bring some much-needed stability to a Mets infield that has big injury question marks in David Wright and Lucas Duda.
  • Hector Neris and Edubray Ramos will see a lot of action over the last two months of the season and the relievers could be trade chips for the Phillies this winter, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.  The Phils scored one major trade haul for Ken Giles last winter, and if Neris and/or Ramos both continue their impressive performance, they could also bring back a solid return.  As Phillies GM Matt Klentak noted about the trade deadline, “the industry is shifting.  They’re paying a lot for elite bullpen arms.  We learned that a little bit last offseason ourselves, and I think that’s been reinforced through some of the trades this year.”

Mets To Place Yoenis Cespedes On 15-Day DL

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The Mets will place outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on the 15-day DL, manager Terry Collins told reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tonight (Twitter link). The star slugger has been playing through a quad issue, but hope that extended rest will help him get back to full capacity.

Cespedes appeared in tonight’s action, but felt added discomfort while at the plate, per James Wagner of the New York Times (via Twitter). He has been quite productive despite the lingering injury. The concern, it seems, was that the club would need to allot frequent rest and limit Cespedes’s exposure to center field just to manage the problem, which would ultimately fail to address it while leaving him at risk of exacerbating things.

It’s still a tough blow to a New York organization that fell to 55 and 52 with tonight’s loss, putting them 8.5 games out of the NL East. While the recent addition of Jay Bruce ought to help offset the loss of offensive productivity, the hope had been that he’d be adding to the middle of the lineup. Brandon Nimmo will return from Triple-A to round out the roster.

Lucas Duda Suffers Setback, Could Miss Rest Of Season

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Mets first baseman Lucas Duda will be fully shut down for thirty days after experiencing a “flare-up” in his back, GM Sandy Alderson told reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). As DiComo notes, that may well mean that he won’t return by the end of the season.

The 30-year-old slugger had been expected to play a significant role this year for the defending N.L. champs. Instead, he lasted only 39 games before succumbing to a back injury that has proven more serious than initially believed. Though Duda was always expected to miss a couple of months, it had generally been assumed that he’d return at some point down the stretch.

That still may be possible, and it doesn’t appear that the team has yet ruled Duda out completely. But a month-long shutdown doesn’t leave much time at all to return to game speed, and it may not even be worth the risk to try.

After all, Duda remains a likely asset for the Mets in 2017. He’s earning $6.725MM this year in his second-to-final season of arbitration eligibility. While he’ll likely earn a slight raise on that, he hasn’t done much to drive a big increase.

Before going down, Duda contributed 145 plate appearances of .231/.297/.431 hitting with seven home runs. That is well off of the standard he had set over the prior two seasons, when Duda was good for a .249/.350/.483 combined slash and 57 total long balls.

So long as the big lefty is able to show progress before the non-tender deadline, there’s good reason to think that he’ll still represent a solid value. Duda is limited to first base, where he is an average defender, and has never really hit lefties outside of a 132 plate appearance sample in 2015. But as a reasonably youthful, established power bat, the market will likely value him above a one-year, $7MM (or less) commitment.

Viewed in that light, Duda should at least represent a plausible trade piece even if he’s not in the Mets’ plans. Really, though, it’s not clear that New York has an alternative lined up. David Wright could require time at first if and when he’s able to return, though it’s hard to imagine the team making moves in reliance on his availability. And though highly-regarded prospect Dominic Smith has finally developed some power in his first attempt at the Double-A level, he’s only 21 years old and isn’t exactly demanding a big league promotion with a .282/.343/.439 batting line.

New York had already been forced to line up a fill-in for the present season, of course, with James Loney having now seen far more time than Duda on the year. He has been quite useful, slashing .284/.336/.442 over 215 plate appearances.

Injury Notes: Salazar, Cabrera, Gregerson, Teheran, Rosenthal, Hochevar

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A trio of notable players just hit the 15-day DL, so we’ll cover them all right here:

  • The Indians announced that they have placed righty Danny Salazar on the 15-day DL while he rests his prized right elbow. Fortunately, an MRI seems only to have revealed inflammation, so the hope is that Salazar won’t miss an extended period of time. And Cleveland has plenty of rotation depth on hand, including Cody Anderson and Mike Clevinger, with the latter getting the nod for the time being. Still even a relatively brief absence will have an impact; Salazar has been nothing short of outstanding, and the AL Central-leading club holding a four-game cushion in the division race.
  • After already recently placing infielder Jose Reyes on the shelf, the Mets have now done the same with shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. He suffered a strained patellar tendon and is headed for an MRI. The team also added just-signed outfielder Justin Ruggiano to the 15-day ranks. Cabrera’s loss is notable for an organization that was already scrambling to fill in for missing infielders. Matt Reynolds will come up for the meantime to help fill the void, but it seems there’s some real concern that the injury could require a fairly lengthy absence.
  • Astros reliever Luke Gregerson is headed to the 15-day with an oblique strain, the team announced. That not only will keep him out of action for a bit, but will clear the way for Ken Giles to take over as the team’s closer with Will Harris struggling of late. Gregerson has been rather excellent this year despite himself losing the 9th-inning job previously, with ERA estimators valuing him even more highly than his 3.09 ERA.
  • The Braves have added righty Julio Teheran to the DL as well. He is dealing with a lat strain that isn’t believed to be serious. Atlanta will obviously want to exercise plenty of caution in handling the injury, even if it isn’t particularly worrisome, as Teheran is a key piece of the organization’s rebuilding plans and there’s no need to rush him back.
  • Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal has been given platelet-rich plasma injections in his bothersome righty shoulder, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. GM John Mozeliak says that it’s possible Rosenthal  Of course, St. Louis will be looking for more than just physical improvement; it’ll also hope that he can fix his skyrocketing walk rate during a rehab stint.
  • As expected, Royals righty Luke Hochevar underwent a procedure today to help deal with a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, as Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star tweets. He is expected to be out for six months, which would conceivably mean that he’ll be ready for a full spring camp if the rehab goes according to plan. It seems likely that the Royals will decline their end of a $7MM mutual option on the reliever, which would make him a free agent, though certainly it’s possible to imagine him staying with Kansas City on some kind of creative, two-year deal of the sort that the team has reached in recent years with several injured hurlers.

Mets Acquire Jay Bruce

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After a snag in the medical reviews of a Mets prospect derailed an earlier version of the trade, the Mets and Reds announced today that Jay Bruce has been traded to Cincinnati in exchange for minor league second baseman Dilson Herrera and minor league left-hander Max Wotell.  Top outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo was originally said to be in the deal, and while he wasn’t the player whose medicals sank the first iteration of the trade, he is no longer included in this version.

Jay Bruce

Bruce, 29, now has the chance to join Cespedes in the New York outfield. The career-long Red is in the midst of not just a resurgent season at the plate, but the finest offensive season he’s ever produced. Bruce is batting .265/.316/.559 with 25 homers, 22 doubles and six triples this season while playing on a reasonable $12.5MM salary. He’s still owed about $4.3MM of that sum through season’s end, and his contract comes with a $13MM club option for the 2017 season as well.

Cincinnati came close to moving Bruce during Spring Training in a supposed three-team deal, but medical reviews of some of the minor leaguers involved torpedoed the deal. That looks quite fortuitous for Cincinnati now, as Bruce’s huge season has rebuilt his trade stock substantially. Bruce underwent arthroscopic knee surgery early in the 2014 season and rushed back in less than a month, and he didn’t look like himself at the plate in either 2014 or 2015 (combined .222/.288/.406 slash line). Now, he’ll be moved for a stronger package of young talent than he’d have fetched about four months ago.

Bruce will provide the Mets with a power bat to slot into the corner outfield mix, although his acquisition likely pushes some combination of Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto into center field due to Yoenis Cespedes’ now-infamous preference to remain in left field. Certainly, that defensive alignment is sub-optimal, as Bruce’s defensive ratings have plummeted this season, but the Mets have long appeared more concerned with ratcheting up their offensive production (e.g. placing Yoenis Cespedes in center field, signing Asdrubal Cabrera to play shortstop) and seem content to live with a sub-par defensive alignment in order to achieve that end.

Herrera, 22, is no longer considered a “prospect” because he’s tallied 169 big league plate appearances, but he becomes a vital future piece for the Reds and is the unequivocal centerpiece of this deal. The 22-year-old has batted just .215/.308/.383 in his limited big league playing time, but he’s yet to receive an opportunity to play on a regular basis. One would imagine that the Reds will afford him with that opportunity in the near future, giving them a look at a player that has been pegged by many scouting reports as a possible big league regular. Herrera is a career .300/.354/.485 hitter in 753 Triple-A plate appearances, displaying a blend of power and speed that has resulted in 24 homers and 19 steals at that level. Brandon Phillips is blocking him at second base, but it’s conceivable that the Reds’ long-term middle infield tandem will consist of Herrera and Jose Peraza. Whether or not that duo lines up in the middle infield, they both figure to be key factors in the Reds’ emerging young core.

Wotell, 19, has already been slotted in as Cincinnati’s No. 22 prospect by Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis at MLB.com. He’s yet to pitch above Rookie ball since being selected in the third round of last season’s draft, though he has a solid 3.57 ERA with 10.5 K/9 against 4.7 BB/9 in 40 1/3 innings between the Gulf Coast League and Appalachian League. Callis and Mayo write that he sits 90-91 mph with his heater but can touch 95 and has room to add to his 6’3″ frame. Wotell’s breaking ball has plus potential but he needs to smooth out his delivery and work on his command, the MLB.com duo notes.

Buster Olney and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal and Joel Sherman of the New York Post did a great deal of the reporting on the initial trade. Olney reported that a restructured deal was close to completion (Twitter link). Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported originally called the Mets the favorites and said that the restructured deal was done (via Twitter). Rosenthal tweeted that Herrera was in the deal instead of Nimmo. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo tweeted that Wotell was the second player going to Cincinnati.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pirates, Mets To Swap Jon Niese, Antonio Bastardo

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The Mets have reacquired left-hander Jon Niese from the Pirates, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (on Twitter). Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that lefty Antonio Bastardo is going back to the Pirates (Twitter link). Both teams have announced the move, and Pittsburgh notes that they’re receiving cash considerations from the Mets in the deal.

The swap of left-handers reunites each southpaw with his 2015 team, as Niese spent his entire career prior to the 2016 campaign in Queens and Bastardo pitched for the Bucs last season. Pittsburgh picked up Niese in what now looks to be an ill-fated swap that netted the Mets Neil Walker, while Bastardo inked a two-year, $12MM contract with the Mets. Neither pitcher has performed up to his standards, though, with Niese posting a 4.91 ERA and briefly losing his spot in the rotation and Bastardo logging a similar 4.74 ERA in 43 2/3 innings of relief.

Niese posted a 4.13 ERA, 5.8 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in New York last season, while Bastardo had a 2.98 ERA, 10.0 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 last year in Pittsburgh. The trade seems to suggest an optimism on the part of their old teams that the flaws the two players showed this year (a vanishing strikeout rate and home-run problems in Niese’s case; control and home-run problems in Bastardo’s) might be painted over. Niese is making $9MM this season, plus a $500K buyout on his 2017 option. Bastardo, who will rejoin the Pirates’ bullpen, is under contract through 2017, when he’ll receive $6.5MM. He’s making $5.25MM this year.

Mets Out On Lucroy; Rangers Still In Pursuit

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Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy scuttled a trade to the Indians yesterday, but he’s still in play in advance of today’s trade deadline.  Milwaukee has their Triple-A catcher Manny Pina up with the big league team in San Diego to prepare for a Lucroy trade, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.  Haudricourt further notes that Lucroy remained in Milwaukee last night, and will fly to San Diego in time for tonight’s game in the event he’s not traded.   The latest:

  • The Rangers are deep in talks on Lucroy, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Gallo would indeed be the centerpiece, he adds.
  • The Mets are now out on Lucroy, Buster Olney of ESPN.com tweets.
  • With the Rangers adding Carlos Beltran, Gallo is now more available to go in a deal for Lucroy, Haudricourt tweets.

Earlier Updates

  • Meanwhile, the Mets are still working on a Lucroy deal, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets.
  • Even if the trade for Jay Bruce goes through, it wouldn’t take the Mets out of the race for Lucroy, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney tweets. Milwaukee is seeking infielder Dilson Herrera in a deal, per Rosenthal (via Twitter). A package would also still include catcher Travis d’Arnaud, as has long been rumored. Perhaps that ask is what leads Jon Heyman of Fan Rag to tweet that New York’s interest is “on life support” at this time, though.
  • It seems that Joey Gallo is on the table for Lucroy, as we’ve heard suggested before, but only if there’s an arm included in the deal as well, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (via Twitter). It’s not clear exactly what pitcher that might be, but certainly there are several relievers that could make sense, as Grant explains. The Brewers could be looking into whether a preferable deal is available involving only the backstop, Haudricourt suggests on Twitter.
  • Texas and Milwaukee haven’t chatted since last night, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets. He suggests it is possible that other teams could get involved, with the Astros named as a speculative possibility, though he goes on to note via Twitter that the Tigers aren’t among them. Of course, it’s also possible that the Rangers and Brewers know each others’ positions, with Milwaukee now just circling back to other organizations before making a call.
  • The Rangers “keep plugging away on Lucroy,” tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.  Crasnick, however, believes the Brewers may need to lower their expectations to get a deal done today. From Milwaukee’s perspective, though, that isn’t going to happen, per a Haudricourt tweet. The team would rather hold Lucroy for offseason trade market than sell him short of his value now, per the report. A lively game of chicken certainly seems to be set up for these teams today.

Mets, Reds Nearing Completion Of Bruce Trade

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2:34pm: The two sides have been able to re-work the trade and a deal is “all but done,” tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

2:30pm: Olney tweets that things are back on track and the Mets are almost done with the trade.

1:59pm: Minor league lefty Max Wotell is one of the players that could be headed to the Reds if the deal goes through, tweets Rosenthal.

1:13pm: Rosenthal tweets that the medical issue is not with Bruce or with Nimmo. The Reds and Mets are trying to restructure the trade at the moment, he adds.

12:55pm: The Reds are balking at the medical reports on one of the minor leaguers in the package, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

12:37pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick now tweets that a medical issue may be holding up the Mets’ acquisition of Bruce. Crasnick adds that the severity of the issue isn’t known, but the medicals are no longer a formality.

11:47am: The Mets and Reds will have a deal, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that two low-level minor leaguers are going to the Reds alongside Nimmo.

11:32am: Outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo will be part of the package going to the Reds, reports Yahoo’s Tim Brown (on Twitter). Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweeted that the Giants and Rangers tried to jump back into the mix with late offers on Bruce but did so too late.

11:26am: The Mets are “on the verge” of completing a trade to acquire outfielder Jay Bruce, reports ESPN’s Buster Olney (on Twitter). This marks the second straight year in which the Reds have been linked to Bruce leading up to the deadline, although last year’s would-be deal never crossed the finish line, and the Mets eventually shifted their focus from the Reds and Bruce, coming away with a last-minute pickup out outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers.

Bruce, 29, now has the chance to join Cespedes in the New York outfield. The career-long Red is in the midst of not just a resurgent season at the plate, but the finest offensive season he’s ever produced. Bruce is batting .265/.316/.559 with 25 homers, 22 doubles and six triples this season while playing on a reasonable $12.5MM salary. He’s still owed about $4.3MM of that sum through season’s end, and his contract comes with a $13MM club option for the 2017 season as well.

Cincinnati came close to moving Bruce during Spring Training in a supposed three-team deal, but medical reviews of some of the minor leaguers involved torpedoed the deal. That looks quite fortuitous for Cincinnati now, as Bruce’s huge season has rebuilt his trade stock substantially. Bruce underwent arthroscopic knee surgery early in the 2014 season and rushed back in less than a month, and he didn’t look like himself at the plate in either 2014 or 2015 (combined .222/.288/.406 slash line). Now, he seems likely go to New York for what is presumably a considerably stronger package of young talent than he’d have fetched about four months ago.

Bruce will provide the Mets with a power bat to slot into the corner outfield mix, although his acquisition likely pushes some combination of Curtis Granderson and Michael Conforto into center field due to Yoenis Cespedes’ now-infamous preference to remain in left field. Certainly, that defensive alignment is sub-optimal, as Bruce’s defensive ratings have plummeted this season, but the Mets have long appeared more concerned with ratcheting up their offensive production (e.g. placing Yoenis Cespedes in center field, signing Asdrubal Cabrera to play shortstop) and seem content to live with a sub-par defensive alignment in order to achieve that end.

From the Reds’ vantage point, Bruce has long been one of their most obvious trade candidates due to the team’s rebuild and the Bruce’s timeline to free agency. In landing Nimmo, they’ll secure a former first-round pick that can essentially step directly into the outfield in Bruce’s absence. The 23-year-old made his big league debut with the Mets this season but has struggled through 60 plate appearances, batting .236/.300/.291. However, Nimmo has torn up the Pacific Coast League (albeit an extremely hitter-friendly environment) by slashing .336/.409/.517 in 325 plate appearances this season and ranked third on Baseball Ameica’s midseason list of Mets prospects and fifth on the midseason top 30 over at MLB.com.

Earlier today, Yahoo’s Jeff Passan reported that the Mets were the favorites to land Bruce.

Relief Pitching Deadline Day Rumors

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The market for relievers is always moving on deadline day, as teams look to add pen pieces that will bolster their depth down the stretch.  Fernando Abad is off the board, having been traded to the Red Sox today.   We’ll keep tabs on the remaining relievers here:

  • The Orioles and Marlins are shopping for a low-end left-handed reliever, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Sherman feels the Braves’ Hunter Cervenka could be one such candidate, while ESPN’s Jayson Stark names Cervenka as a last-minute target for the Fish.
  • Sherman also notes that the Rangers are among the teams looking at Braves righty Jim Johnson.  The Braves have kicked around Johnson as well, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday, but nothing appears close.
  • While they are also pursuing larger targets, the Giants have perused the second tier of the relief market, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick (Twitter link). While the top targets have perhaps mostly already been traded, San Francisco has scouted the Brewers’ strong group of relievers as well as increasingly valuable Rockies southpaw Boone Logan — though last we heard he may not be traded. Jeanmar Gomez of the Phillies is another name the Giants have checked, though he too isn’t sure to be dealt. And even as the Giants talk with the Rays on starter Matt Moore, the club has also watched right-handed swingman Erasmo Ramirez, per Crasnick.
  • The Astros are kicking around some left-handed reliever options, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick reports (Twitter links). That’s arguably the team’s biggest area of need. Some of the names mentioned include Logan and Jake McGee of the Rockies and the Brewers’ Will Smith — all of whom are at or near the remaining market for relief southpaws. It’s not immediately clear whether any are real options at this stage, as Crasnick notes that nothing has “materialized” to this point.
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